Solutions for Soulful Living

extraordinary dreaming

Can two or more people (even complete strangers) share dream elements? Can two or more people agree to dream together and intentionally interact? Dreamers casually talk about these episodes. A significant body of anecdotal reports exists as well. Still, scientific investigations in this area are rare.

About two decades ago, I had my first dream of a stranger, which I met later, for the first time, in the waking state, a few weeks after the dream. She was a young woman close to my age. While I recalled information about her from the dream, she did not recall dreaming me. This episode was one-directional, although many people report dual-directional experiences.

The term ‘shared dreaming’ usually refers to two or more people sharing similar elements in the dreams. ‘Mutual dreaming’ involves two or more people interacting or meeting together in a dream. I see it as more intentional. Both shared dreaming and mutual dreaming can involve highly detailed recollections or vague memories.

Once a month, I lead a dream course in California. One time, as the participants departed, a man approached me and asked if I had ever heard of two people having the same dream. I said, “yes,” and told him that this phenomenon has been reported by many people. He then told me about a recent experience he had with a friend. He said they seemed to share the same dream space and awoke to recall very similar events and scenes. After listening to his story, I asked if he or his friend had written down the episodes before speaking to each other – they hadn’t. I suggested dream journaling upon awakening. Not only would this document the dream for future reference, but it would also say a lot if both dreamers produce similar written episodes before interactional influences have an effect. We parted ways, both excited that this might occur again soon.

While I was aware of the varieties of anomalous dream occurrences much earlier, it wasn’t until about 2004 that I attended courses and participated with a group that taught lucid dreaming and out-of-body techniques. During that period, the group would meet about once a month at night to practice mutual and shared dreaming – a special occasion. One of the group facilitators would place a secret object in the next room and the attendees were invited to dream with each other, interact, and if they chose, discover the object unknown to the group. This was a fun challenge and my first time working with a group to enhance our conscious dream skills. I was unsuccessful, but those more seasoned participants were quite successful, at times, and made accurate claims regarding the target object. During those years I came to understand that mutual and shared dreaming is possible.

Neuroscientist Patrick McNamara, PhD asks Can Two People Have The Same Dream? (See June 19, 2016 article in Psychology Today by that name). McNamara states that the best-documented cases involve shared dreams between therapists and their clients, followed by those people in close relationships. Think emotional closeness! While McNamara notes that the dreamers don’t agree on every dream detail, I understand that to be consistent with reports from waking state occurrences. For example, two friends walking together side-by-side down the same street would likely not report the exact same details of the experience. Psychological theories of memory, sensation and perception explain this. As McNamara’s article concludes, he writes, “In short, we [the scientific community] have no good explanations for shared dreams. Perhaps that is why science has not yet investigated these events. Science has no place to put them within its current worldview—but this is all the more reason to investigate them. Paradigm-challenging phenomena are the most important data for science because they force revolutionary changes.” I can think of no bigger clash than that of the current scientific paradigm and the transpersonal or spiritual perspectives.

Western science aside, consider non-materialistic views and those traditional, nature-based, indigenous, non-western, or even mystical views. Can consciousness leave the physical body and return at will? If the soul travels as one’s body slumbers, bumping into friends or family members who share the same ‘dimensional space’ may be possible. While such a notion is a given among certain groups, it may not sit comfortably with particular religious groups or even extreme secularists. Mutual and shared dreaming rides dangerously close to historical accusations (Salem witch trails; the Inquisition) of individuals making a pact with the devil. Whatever we believe, it is unlikely that the next person that crosses our path will hold the same assumption or harness the same belief. The bottom line, however, is that it may be difficult to deny the power and mystery of mutual dreaming once one (or more) experiences such.

With the increase in reported violence and harassment surrounding this election season, many sense a growing tension in the air. For some, it is a time of great fear and uncertainty. It is no surprise that memorable, impactful, and significant dreams are recalled during these turbulent months of 2016. One woman sent in the following for publication, here, via Conscious Chimera.

Arizona resident “G” wrote, “On June 16, 2016, Donald Trump announced he was running for President of the United States. My immediate reaction was, this was of course a joke. Some sick farce Trump had concocted for higher ratings to some new ridiculous reality show coming up in the near future. A few weeks after his announcement, I had one of the worst nightmares I ever had and prayed to God it was not some horrific prediction of days to come.”

With that, “G” reported the following dream:

“In my dream, Trump was president. His nauseatingly racist, xenophobic regime was firmly established and in my nightmare, he was interning all of the Asian Americans in Arizona. Of course, I was in a state of shock and disbelief, but there I was, thinking how could this happen as Asians Americans all of the state were being corralled into buses headed toward internment camps. We were only allowed 1-2 grocery bags full of personal items. For some reason, I was dressed in a traditional red and white flowered Pilipino housedress belonging to my mother. Instead of being allowed the 2 bags of items, I was only allowed one pathetic grocery bag, which only carried a pair of underwear, toothbrush and undershirt. As I was about to embark on the bus, I turned to my house and hoped it would be okay. I was anticipating the Trump regime to confiscate the belongings as well as the house itself, just as it was during the Japanese internment in World War 2. I had a small glimmer of hope that perhaps my parents or brother could take possession of my home as my closest immediate relatives. I wondered if I could allow myself some optimism that they could salvage the equity of the home for the sake of our family’s decades of hard work. I was curious to know if or when they may be interned as Asian Americans in California. In this sickening dream, it was just Arizona that was interning Asians in the U.S. so far.

After exiting the bus, I came upon the interment camp. It was vast wasteland and I was to be interned in a grave. In the grave was a workstation and the walls of the grave where dirt was to surround my body, instead housed shelving filled with items I was to be working on for the workstation. The workstation was a table set up, factory worker style and this was where I was to work all day. I was to eat, sleep and defecate beside the worktable until the day I died.

As I stood there feeling dejected, I crawled out of the grave and stood up on literal equal footing as the White soldiers around me and decided I was not going to allow this to be my reality and I would move to Canada.

Somewhat hopeful of my decision, I then woke up.”

She continues, “Upon waking, I was disoriented and disturbed. After gaining some composure on what I had just experienced, I decided moving to Canada was not the actual course of action I would take if this repulsive reality would ever take place, I would revolt instead. I would stand my ground on this land and fight as others did before me.

Since that terrible nightmare, Trump did become the President elect. On November 17, 2016, Trump supporter, former Navy Seal, Carl Higbie had a blatantly racist discussion on air, stating the Japanese interment was precedent set for the possibility of interning Muslims in the U.S.

Just as Hitler’s Regime did to those of Jewish descent, Trump’s factions wish to start a registry of Muslims in the U.S.

Peaceful Native Americans are being beaten, gassed and hosed with freezing water in Standing Rock, North Dakota just as peaceful African Americans were at Birmingham in the 60s.

As when I woke up from the nightmare, and the wake of the electoral college selecting Trump as President, I pray this dream was not precognitive. I believe it is an important warning and a call to action.

What happened to the Japanese American in World War 2 can not be repeated and we have a nation of people of color and supporters that will fight for equal rights.”

After reading this dream report (along with the author’s introduction and concluding statements), a wide range of thoughts and feelings arose. How many others may be dreaming like this at this time? What does it say about the future? A dream like this leaves me with more questions than answers.

I considered Carl Jung’s complementary theory and thought ‘how might this dream restore equilibrium or re-establish balance for this dreamer?’ I also wondered if a dream is regarded as a “truth-telling oracle,” as has been in the past, then what can be understood from this experience? Another approach considers the conscious and unconscious to operate as a whole, instead of existing in opposition. Could this frightening dream be a reflection of the dreamers life? Could it serve her by acting as a ‘road sign’ for what she should consider attending to today?

Montague Ullman considered dreams to be a spontaneous expression of one’s life situation. Of course, the dreamer herself would be the one to connect the dots and make the most appropriate interpretations – after all, it is her life, in which she is the expert.

…And your dreams? Does the dream reported here mirror any dream of your own lately? Whether or not that’s the case, we can learn from the dreams of others. We can see a glimpse of our own inner world reflected back. And so, as the Ullman Method of Dream Appreciation begins, “If this were my dream,…”

Beyond the mundane fragments sometimes recalled from a previous night’s dream, are unusual experiences that take place more often than one might expect. Extraordinary dreams are fairly common and reported by people everywhere, of every age group and in just about any place in the world. One of my favorite dream books is Extraordinary Dreams and How to Work With Them by Stanley Krippner, Fariba Bogzaran, and Andre Percia de Carvalho. They discuss specific categories of dreams (that overlap at times) such as creative dreams, lucid dreams, pregnancy dreams, healing dreams, telepathic dreams, clairvoyant dreams, precognitive dreams, and more. Among these categories are dreams that serve as premonitions, which are often referred to as precognitive dreams. Jeanne Van Bronkhorst’s first book titled Premonitions in Daily Life contains a section on dream premonitions as well. She normalizes this common human experience that frequently gets lumped into the magical or mysterious.

Precognitive, or premonition, dreams have been reported since antiquity. In fact, several examples can be found in the Bible. Some of these types of dreams predict national disasters or important world events, but most often, precognitive dreams reveal average, everyday, or otherwise insignificant future events to the dreamer. For example, a dream may show an old childhood friend calling, and that evening you are left a voicemail from that person. Or you may dream of visiting a new, unidentifiable place with unique details, then find yourself there the following weekend. Sometimes, though, precognitive dreams may serve to warn. One dreamer reported dreaming of being threatened in a bank during a hold up, and then lived through that frightening experience the next day while conducting business in a bank! Precognitive dreams can be metaphorical, not just literal, so, all dream material can hold value. In addition, future events can be amenable to change – Nothing is set in stone.

Can a dream actually be a forecast? Should such dreams be trusted? Are they delusions or a coincidence, or just a normal, natural part of the human experience? Ancient dreamworkers, as well as contemporary psychologists, have been concerned with these matters. To learn whether our premonitory dreams hold predictive value, we can track them. By writing down the dreams we recall each morning, we are more likely to remember them, especially if they seem insignificant. Once your daily log exists, you can reference the dreams later. I keep a notebook on the nightstand with a couple pens. Upon awaking, I write down all I recall without judgment. Then I put the date at the top and, finally, read what I’ve written to reflect on content, and identify themes, as well as attitudes and feelings. This practice can assist us in connecting dream events with waking life ones. The more this is practiced consistently, the easier it becomes, and eventually it may even be possible to sense a connection between waking and dreaming experiences. Because memory can easily become distorted, including memory for time sequencing, it’s wise to have a healthy sense of skepticism. However, a daily practice of noting all dream details immediately upon awakening, as mentioned above, can show that the dream took place before the waking life event. With time, this helps us trust our precognitive experiences and encourages continuation of the practice.